Cangene says U.S. government to buy $143 million of anti-anthrax drug

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., July 28 - Cangene said Friday that the Department of Health and Human Services has exercised its option to buy 10,000 doses of anthrax immune globulin under a modification to an earlier development and supply contract.

The anthrax immune globulin is to be made available for treating or preventing inhalational anthrax, an acute infectious disease that is caused by inhaling spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.

The value of this modification to the Project BioShield contract is about $143 million and comes as a result of successful preliminary efficacy testing done earlier under the contract, which was originally signed in September 2005, the company said in a news release.

Cangene said it has already delivered a small number of doses under this contract into the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile; however, additional deliveries will start in the later part of 2007 and will be completed by the end of 2009.

Cangene will receive payments following the delivery of these additional doses of usable product into the national stockpile.

The contract also requires that Cangene apply for and receive authorization for marketing from the Food and Drug Administration.

Cangene is a biotechnology company based in Winnipeg, Man.

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